Wander
by SonicShaymin2
Summary: Sometimes when you fend for yourself, it makes you wander to new places. You meet new people, learn new things and can even take it as a chance to make an effort with the person of your dreams! But, it's not all a picnic! Oh. One question... How are children so good at being criminals? NO YAOI!
1. Plan

_**Author's Notes: Another Naruto story! I should really try to finish something, but sometimes when you think of something, you need to write it! Otherwise, you begin to think about it more and more, and then next thing you know, you have a detention from every subject teacher you have! So, here we go!**_

_**Title: Wander**_

_**Anime: Naruto**_

_**Summary: Sometimes when you fend for yourself, it makes you wander to new places. You meet new people, learn new things and can even take it as a chance to make an effort with the person of your dreams! But, it's not all a picnic! Oh. One question... How are children so good at being criminals?**_

_**Genre: Hurt/comfort, Drama**_

_**Rating: T**_

_**Characters: Naruto, Gaara, Sasuke, Kiba**_

_**Pairings: None as of yet. NO Yaoi!**_

_**Word Count: 6278**_

_**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. The Great Masashi Kishimoto does! I only have like... 20 bucks! So... Yeah. Also, T.V. Tokyo and Madman Entertainment does too!**_

_Chapter one:_

"I CAN'T TAKE THIS PLACE ANYMORE!" Naruto screamed as he stormed into his room, shared with his friends who all stared at him.

"What happened this time...?" Shikamaru asked.

"DAMN IT!" Naruto screamed again as he punched the wall. "WHY IS THAT GUY EVEN HERE?"

"Did he have his princess moment again at lunch?" Kiba asked.

"MORE THAN A 'PRINCESS MOMENT'! IT WAS A FULL-ON RAGE FIT! DO YOU REALLY THINK I GAVE MYSELF THESE BRUISES FOR THE FUN OF IT?" Naruto replied.

Shikamaru and Kiba looked at each other, while two of the other boys in the room remained silent, still staring at the newcomer to the room.

"Just quiet down, Naruto." Shikamaru said as he climbed down from his bunk and walked towards the enraged kid. "We don't want anyone to come in here and start to ask questions."

"YOU WOULD BE SCREAMING TOO IF SOMEONE HAD DONE ALL OF THIS TO YOU!" Naruto yelled as he gestured to his bare arm, covered only by more bruises.

"He's really gone at it this time..." Shikamaru commented.

"If only everyone else here weren't such jerks, then we wouldn't even be having this problem..." Kiba stated as he climbed down from his bunk on the other side of the room. "Everyone has been getting pretty cocky lately..."

A moment of silence filled the room and then it clicked.

"Hey," Naruto said, calming down a little. "If everyone else is getting cocky around here, why can't we?"

"What?" Shikamaru asked as he raised an eyebrow.

"Well, we haven't done anything about the stuff that's been happening! I mean, it's all because we're too scared to do anything about it!" Naruto replied.

"Dude, we're ten! Of course we don't do anything about it!" Kiba told him.

"Look, we are all facing these guys as if we are in the dark! And you even hide your dog and give him half of our meals – which, might I add, are very small! You're practically starving yourself! Not to mention that it seems that our faces are like fist magnets to the guys here!" Naruto stated.

"He... Does have a point..." Sasuke added, now finally joining in the conversation from the corner nearby.

"Look, if we've handled it this long, we can hold out a little longer..." Shikamaru said with a small frown.

"And besides, I've been giving Akamaru half of my meals ever since we've been here. I'm used to the feeds I get." Kiba added.

"Come on!" Naruto shouted. "You can't be serious!"

"It's just the facts..." Shikamaru replied. "We just have to wait until we get adopted."

"It's either that, or we wait until the day that everyone else leaves and we can finally take this place for ourselves..." Kiba joked, half-heartedly.

"And what... What if say, three or four of us gets adopted? What's going to happen then? They'll become bigger targets, that's what!" Naruto shot back.

"What happens... Happens." Shikamaru said. "We can't change it."

"But... What if we can...?" Sasuke asked.

"What?" Shikamaru asked.

Sasuke stood up and walked to the group. "I think our knucklehead of a friend is onto something." He said, Naruto pushing off what he had just been called.

"What?" Kiba asked. "You're agreeing with him? So, what do you suggest we do, Sasuke? Run up to the nearest bully and say, 'hey, I have suddenly gained super powers and now I can beat you' and hope for the best that they buy it and run for the hills?"

"No." Sasuke replied. "There's a simple solution to this if you think about it. After all, we don't _have _to be here."

"No. No, no, no, no, no! NO!" Shikamaru replied. "We are _not_ doing that!"

"Have you got any other suggestions?" Naruto asked. "That don't totally blow?" He added.

"I agree..." The silent red-headed boy on his bottom bunk said.

"Not you too, Gaara!" Kiba said, followed by a groan. "This isn't going to work!"

"Yeah... There are people that are incredibly dangerous out there." Shikamaru agreed.

"Have you even thought about the kinds of things they can do to kids like us?" Kiba asked.

"And we're would we even go?"

"Far away from here." Naruto answered. "Come on! Haven't you wanted to see the world? You know, besides on flat maps."

Kiba blinked. "Well, I haven't had the chance to take Akamaru on a walk... Maybe it will be good for him..." He said in thought.

"Kiba, don't you start!" Shikamaru told him.

"Sorry, I have nothing else to defend. This place blows dirt balls..." Kiba said with a shrug.

"Shikamaru, you are either in, or you're out." Naruto said.

"I'm out. There's no way I'm going to break rules, and windows to-"

"You hear that? He wants out!" Naruto interrupted.

"You little-You tricked me!" Shikamaru yelled.

"I knew that would work!" The blonde and bruised boy smiled.

"The question is, when and how do we do it...? Without alarming any of the others?" Sasuke asked.

"I say we smash stuff!" Naruto said.

"We aren't doing that..." Shikamaru said.

"Didn't you hear that last part?" Kiba asked. "No smashing, Naruto!"

"I'm not a three year old, Kiba." Naruto replied.

The five children heard the door slowly creak open and they froze – well, not Gaara. In fact, he didn't move an inch.

'Oh! Me and my screaming!' Naruto thought in panic.

As the door creaked open more, a figure of a small girl – who looked around their age – with short light blue hair, dark blue eyes and damaged material made for a dress was revealed out of the shadows.

The boys – minus Gaara, of course – let out a breath that they had been holding for a while now in relief.

"It's only you, Haruhi." Naruto said as he held his chest.

"Who'd you think it was?" The girl – Haruhi – whispered as she closed the door behind her. She paused for a moment. "Don't answer that."

The boys stared at her for a moment.

"What?" Haruhi asked and gently touched the side of her cheek in realization. "Oh that? It's nothing."

Shikamaru glanced at Sasuke who said nothing, but moved over to bedside table and opened the drawer and grabbed some creams out and closed it, signalling for Haruhi to come over to him. She didn't argue and walked over to him.

"Whip?" He asked as he twisted the cap off.

"Whip." Haruhi replied with a small nod.

The other children looked at each other. Naruto and Kiba with almost begging looks as Akamaru gave Shikamaru the cute eyes. Shikamaru rolled his eyes, but eventually nodded.

Naruto casually, but at the same time carefully, strolled over to Sasuke and Haruhi. "Hey, Haruhi," He whispered to the girl. "Are you sick of this place?"

"Duh." The blue-haired girl replied.

"Do you want to leave?" Naruto continued.

"Of course I do." Haruhi answered. "Who wouldn't want to leave this hell of a place?"

"Well, we were thinking about getting out of here."

"Okay, it's either that you know someone who will adopt us, or you been banged on the head one too many times." Haruhi stated as she turned to face Naruto with a raised eyebrow, hissing in pain as the cream didn't go in right from her sudden action.

"Stay still." Sasuke told her sternly.

"Sorry." Haruhi apologized as she turned back to him.

"But, seriously, do you want to come with us? Get out of here?" Naruto asked.

Haruhi thought for a moment and spoke. "How do you suggest we get out then?"

Naruto's eyes sparkled with delight. "I guess that means that you want to come?"

"Want? I _need_ to get out of here!" Haruhi corrected.

Naruto scratched the back of his head. "Uh... Yeah... You see... I have only just had my speech, so I haven't really planned that far yet..." He admitted.

Groans were heard around the room.

"Look, it's simple. We just need to run out without making any noise!" Naruto stated.

"And have you ever once thought that there are cameras hidden outside in case any kids before us have tried?" Shikamaru asked.

Naruto's eyes were jolting from one side to the other. "Look, I'm an action person! I don't need to think! Besides, as if any ten year-old kid can figure out how to-"

"All we have to do is locate the cameras and find a way to stop them from seeing us," Shikamaru interrupted. "I doubt that they'll have any facing the wall, because they would never expect kids our age to think about it. They would think that we would just run blindly. So, by staying quiet and leaning against the wall, we should be able to avoid any of the cameras,"

"I like it..." Naruto replied.

"But it would mean going past the rooms of all of the older kids." Shikamaru stated.

"I don't like it..."

"It's either that or we go past the head's office."

"Sneaking past the older kids sounds good, are we good?"

"Yep."

"Good."

"..."

"Hn..."

"Okay, we're good!"

"But Naruto, we're going to have to be extremely quiet about this... We can't make a sound..." Haruhi told him. "While we're going through with this, we're going to have to follow Shikamaru's orders."

"Yeah! I know that!" Naruto replied. "I can be quiet whenever I want!"

"I wonder when that'll be..." Kiba muttered with a small whimper from the small, white puppy in his shirt.

"I can be quiet! I'm just... A very... Fun-loving person!" Naruto countered.

Kiba just rolled his eyes at the blonde's comment, but decided not to say any more in worry of waking any other of the orphans up.

As Sasuke finished up with Haruhi's wound, Shikamaru walked over to his bed and reached under the pillow and pulled out a paperclip and began to bend one side until it was straight and proceeded with trying to unlock the window.

"I don't see why we just can't break it..." Naruto said. "They probably won't care if we're gone anyway. I mean, if they haven't gotten any money off of us yet, why would they want to waste more by paying for food and stuff for us...?"

"We can't take any chances, Naruto..." Shikamaru told him as he continued to turn the paperclip. "They are very strict and would take many risks for money..."

"Well at least hurry it up!" Naruto replied. "I'm getting tired of waiting...!"

"It doesn't just take two seconds to pick a lock, you know..." Haruhi replied.

"Well, it should..."

"Well, it doesn't...!" Kiba told the blonde.

"Hey! Don't start with me, Dog Boy!" Naruto shot back.

"What's wrong with having Akamaru around?" Kiba growled along with Akamaru.

"Be quiet you morons...!" Sasuke hissed at the two – three if you count Akamaru – causing them to remain quiet, but decided to have a glare-off.

A click was heard when Shikamaru finally picked the lock and shoved the paperclip into his shorts' pocket. "There we go..." He said as he slid the window open and faced the others. "Alright, now we have to stay cautious. Only move on my signal while we're out here. Got that?"

Everyone else nodded.

"Good. Now, let's move." Shikamaru said as he carefully jumped through the window with the others following close behind.

The kids leaned their backs against the brick wall and followed Shikamaru's lead, not once moving their backs off the wall. As they moved, the noticed that there were hidden cameras around the outside.

'How is Shikamaru so smart for being a lazy ten year-old kid?' Haruhi thought with a slightly raised eyebrow.

They reached the corner and stop for a moment. Shikamaru faced the rest of the group. "Alright, on my signal we have to run as fast as we can without stopping. If we stop for even a second, there is a huge possibility that we can be caught. Do you get that?" He whispered to them, which was replied with a round of nods. Shikamaru nodded back and stared up at the camera as it continuously turned around the area. When the camera had just turned to go to the opposite side, Shikamaru gave the signal and they all began to run towards the nearby forest. Lucky.

They had only just got there...

The kids were panting as they all hid behind either a tree or a bush and out of the reach of the cameras. Their legs were tired, not being aloud much time to do really anything that they want to at the orphanage. They remained like this for a while, but Shikamaru was the first to speak.

"It looks like the cameras didn't notice us. We're safe... For now..." He stated. "But, we should keep moving. They might send out a search party for us when they notice that we're gone."

"Right." The others said in unison as they followed Shikamaru.

"That was amazing!" Naruto told the others, his voice filled with joy. "I can't believe that we actually got out of there!"

"We're not out of trouble yet. We still need to find out where we're going..." Shikamaru stated.

"Yeah, yeah... I know that! Why do you always need to ruin the moment, you wet blanket?" Naruto muttered with a pout.

Shikamaru just shook his head. "Troublesome..."

"Do you know if there are any villages nearby, Shikamaru?" Haruhi asked.

Shikamaru sighed. "So, I make one little plan and suddenly I have to know where a village is... Troublesome..."

"I'm going to take that as a no by your attitude..." Haruhi said. "It looks like we're going to be wandering aimlessly until we stumble upon a village by luck."

"So, should we just keep walking all night?" Kiba asked with folded arms. "I mean, until we get far enough out...?"

Shikamaru rolled his eyes. "I guess so... But if we are too fatigued then we'll have to stop. There's no use in collapsing from exhaustion. We will just need to take watch shifts if we do though..." He replied.

Kiba nodded. "Sounds good." He said, followed by a yip from Akamaru.

Haruhi turned to face the two silent boys who were following on behind. "Anything you want to add, guys?" She asked, which was replied by the silence. She scrunched up her nose. "I guess not..."

"Well, I'm glad that I'm finally out of there after being in there for most of my life..." Naruto said, starting a conversation.

"That's true, but Gaara was in there first and has been in there longer." Haruhi stated with a small smile.

"But, I _was_ a close-second." Naruto replied.

"You're actually bragging about who has been in there the longest?" Kiba asked. "I don't know about you, but that doesn't seem like a very great position..."

"Well, we're still in one piece, is what I'm saying." Naruto told him. "It's an achievement to me!"

Kiba rolled his eyes. "I don't understand that you've turned out to be a sane-happy guy after being in that place for most of your life. I mean a lot of orphans that were at that place turned out to be happy kids, but that's just because they got out of there before the abuse got serious." He said aloud.

"What can I say? I'm just one of those people who make the others around him feel really special and lucky to have around!" Naruto boasted.

Everyone else groaned.

"What a loser..." Sasuke – finally – mumbled.

"That was just... No, Naruto... No..." Kiba said, unable to find the right words.

"Come on! I've been holding in all of my jokes ever since I've been in there. I just had the perfect time to tell one. You can't just miss out on that!" Naruto stated.

"I regret saying what I said to make him say that..." Kiba mumbled as he shook his head, Akamaru copying his motion.

"Yeah! Thanks a lot, Kiba!" Haruhi added. Kiba raised an eyebrow at her. "What?" She asked. "You heard what Naruto said!"

"Oh brother..." Kiba muttered.

'It sure is good to be out of there though...' Naruto thought. 'Especially getting away from that Bash guy! He was the worst!'

_*Flashback*_

"_Hey pipsqueak!" Bash screamed as he stormed over to Naruto._

_Gaara tugged on Naruto's torn shirt and tried to pull him away from the table where he sat, but Naruto wouldn't listen. Being new to the orphanage was understandable, but it was best to do what Gaara said, otherwise a few bones could be broken._

"_Dude... I have no idea what you're telling me, but-"_

_Naruto was grabbed by the collar of his shirt and brought only inches away from the face of an older kid who looked like a typical high school bully. And for some reason, his clothes looked as if they were brand new. Naruto looked at his tray of food which looked way more edible than the pile of garbage that most of the kids got._

'_Must be a favourite...' He thought._

"_Listen here! You're new, so you don't know how things work here!" The brown-haired teen yelled. Naruto could've sworn that he could feel the guy's spit fall onto his face as he spoke. "You do as I say or you will feel a world of hurt! Got that?"_

_Before Naruto could do anything, Bash spoke again. "In fact, I might just give you a test shot!" Naruto's eyes shot closed, but didn't feel any pain... Actually, he was dropped to the ground. He slowly opened his eyes, to see Gaara in front of him and Bash's arm was covered in sand._

_Bash growled as the sand slowly left his now bleeding arm and into the gourd on Gaara's back. "You got lucky this time, kid!" And with that he left._

_Naruto just stared at Gaara with wide eyes. "What-"_

_Gaara turned to face him. "You were supposed to move..."_

_*Flashback Ends*_

Naruto slowly shook his head. 'Yeah... _The worst_...! No... That's a lie... Everyone there was as bad as each other...' He thought.

Haruhi sighed. 'The first day there was horrible...'

_*Flashback*_

_Haruhi walked around the small eating area, lost in her thoughts until she fell face-first onto the ground. But she knew better than it was an accident... Someone had tripped her over. She turned her head to face the small group of boys that had just made her fall. She scrunched up her nose as she stood up._

"_What's the big idea, pal?" She yelled at them. "Do you want karma to be a pain in your behind?"_

"_It's your fault for not looking where you were going, new kid!" The pale boy at the front of the group shot back with a smirk across his face._

_Haruhi's hands curled up into small balls as she narrowed her eyes at them._

"_You know, I could continue doing stuff like this, or I could stop if you do something for me." The boy said._

_Haruhi turned to face her back to him. "If you think that I'm going to do anything for someone like you, you're nuts!"_

"_You'll regret it, toots!" The boy yelled as Haruhi stormed off, rolling her eyes at the boy's stupidity._

_*Flashback Ends*_

'Thinking that I'm going to go on a date with him! Ridiculous!' Haruhi thought as she held a hand up to her forehead.

'No memories, but one... No one to be able to talk to... It was hard to deal with...' Sasuke thought as he stared sadly at the ground.

_*Flashback*_

"So, what's your name, new kid?" A blonde haired boy asked. Sasuke sighed. He could already tell that this kid was going to get on his nerves.

"...Sasuke..." He replied softly.

"I'm Naruto! And that's Gaara and Haruhi!" The blonde stated. "So, where did you originally come from? You know, before you became like us?"

Sasuke thought for a moment in silence. He slowly shook his head, but could barely be seen. "I don't remember... It's not clear..."

Naruto blinked and looked at the others.

"Do you remember anything? Any other details? Other than your name?" Haruhi asked.

Sasuke muttered something under his breath and remained silent for a while. "No... Nothing..."

Haruhi gave him a sympathetic look while Naruto and Gaara didn't seem to sympathize with him as much, being at the orphanage for so long...

"Well... You can eat with us, you know..."

_*Flashback Ends*_

'Hiding Akamaru was difficult... I wasn't even able to tell my friends...' Kiba thought as he stroked Akamaru's head gently. He glanced down at the small puppy in his shirt who returned the glance, which caused Kiba to bring out his toothy grin.

'But still...'

_*Flashback*_

"_You know, there's something not quite right about you..." Naruto said to Kiba._

_Kiba cringed as he tried to cover his tracks of his secret._

"_Um... Are you going to leave me alone, or are you just going to act creepy for a while?" Kiba asked, playing dumb._

"_Why do you smell like a dog?" Naruto asked, ignoring Kiba's question._

"_Have you got something against dogs?" Kiba asked._

"_You ignored my question..." Naruto muttered._

"_You ignored mine too, but I'm not whining like a little girl..." Kiba growled._

_Naruto began to walk towards the door, but looked back at the brunette. "Okay... You win the battle, but I'm keeping my eye on you..." He turned back and walked out the door, closing it behind him._

_Kiba let the air that he had been holding onto for that entire time and he lay on his stomach and looked under the bed._

"_It's okay, boy... He's gone now... You can come out..." He whispered and out came a small, white puppy that immediately licked Kiba's cheek. "It's no problem...!"_

_*Flashback Ends*_

'...Being ignored... When just becoming an orphan... Or even being talked about... They talked badly...' Gaara thought back. '...Hell is the word...'

_*Flashback*_

"_That boy is a monster! We can't keep him here anymore! Who knows what he could do to those other pieces of trash? That will be big money we'll lose!"_

"_Stay calm... If anyone wants to adopt him, then let them... They won't know..."_

"_But they will!"_

"_Don't worry; if he causes any trouble, then I can always solve things the quick and easy way..."_

"_You better..."_

_Gaara listened in from the corner and clutched onto his slightly torn teddy bear. He stared down at the ground in silence for a moment, but soon walked away and into his dark and empty room. It was only him. Alone... As always... _

_He walked over to his bed and sat down. His eyes wandered around the room – the empty room. It was so lonely in this room. Even just one more person in here wouldn't be bad..._

_He would cry if he could..._

_*Flashback Ends*_

'How troublesome that place was...' Shikamaru thought as his eye twitched. 'It's not my fault that everything that they tried to get us to do was a total waste of time...'

_*Flashback*_

"_Bash, can you please show this boy what happens when someone dozes off while I'm talking?"_

"_Of course!"_

_Shikamaru was whacked across the head and fell flat on the ground. He groaned as he wondered why he couldn't be bothered to try and dodge that one._

"_What a drag..." He mumbled softly. He stared up at Ms. Jones with a raised eyebrow and a new bruise forming on his forehead._

"_Now, if you ever try that again you will receive a punishment far worse! Get it?" Ms. Jones yelled._

"_Got it..." Shikamaru muttered._

"_Good. Now stand up before I have to punish you for that too!"_

_Shikamaru stood up and felt his sore head. 'That's going to look bad in the morning... Troublesome...'_

_*Flashback Ends*_

'Troublesome...'

"I'm hungry..." Naruto said to the group.

"Well, we're all hungry. Wait... Most of us..." Shikamaru began as Kiba's eyes narrowed. "But we're going to have to deal with it until we can find anything edible."

"Edi-what?" Naruto asked.

"Edible." Haruhi replied. "It means that you are able to eat it."

"Oh. That makes sense..." Naruto said. "But, that will take forever!"

"Just... Try not to think about it." Haruhi stated as her stomach rumbled, her face glowing red. "Y-You're making us all – most – of us hungry!"

"Really?" Kiba asked, slightly annoyed. "Again?"

"It's a good thing that we all know the meaning of _quiet_." Shikamaru stated sarcastically.

Kiba and Akamaru lifted their noses into the air and sniffed. "Guys, I can smell something..." Kiba said.

"What is it?" Shikamaru asked as everyone stopped dead in their tracks.

"It smells like... Someone's cooking... Meat..." Kiba answered.

"So you mean it's something other than onion and who-knows-what-else?" Naruto asked.

"Yep." Kiba replied with a yip added by Akamaru.

"I don't think that we should go there... If it's cooking, then someone must be there too. We have to be cautious; we don't know who it can be..." Shikamaru stated with Sasuke and Gaara nodding in agreement.

"Well, I guess we can always find some fruit to eat then..." Haruhi stated.

Kiba stared down at Akamaru with sympathy. 'Sorry boy...' He thought as Akamaru whimpered.

The group waited for someone to object, but realized that Naruto wasn't there.

"We better go after him! Let's go, Akamaru!" Kiba said as he ran after Naruto's scent, Akamaru barking in reply.

"Kiba! Wait! We don't know if there are rabid squirrels out there!" Haruhi called out as she ran after the partners.

"Haruhi-" Shikamaru tried to call her, but just groaned. He turned to the other two that were left with him. "Any more takers?"

Sasuke and Gaara looked at each other for a moment, then both turned back to face Shikamaru. Sasuke sighed.

"I'll be right back with them." He said as he chased after them.

Shikamaru just shook his head. "So troublesome... They just make my job harder... At least you're quiet, Gaara..." He said as he sat against a tree. "Now I can get some well-deserved rest."

Gaara just stared at him, but didn't say anything and soon turned to face the direction where the rest of the group had just run off in.

-Bar Line-

Naruto had just found the place that Kiba was talking about and found a spot to hide in the trees. He looked around and smiled happily, seeing no one around. He stared at the large amount of meat that had been cooking on a stick over a flame. Naruto was about to lunge at the meat until he was grabbed from behind.

"I told you there would be no rabid squirrels out there, Haruhi!" Kiba told the blue-haired girl. He turned to Naruto. "Oh and uh... WHAT WERE YOU THINKING?"

"I WAS TRYING TO GET SOME ACTUAL FOOD!" Naruto screamed.

"Just be quiet and let's get out of here..." Haruhi whispered. "We can't just steal that! Someone might see us!"

"I'm sure that the guy wouldn't mind if a little bit was missing... I mean, look at that thing! It's huge!" Naruto replied.

"Come on, Kiba... Let's get him out of here..." Haruhi said, but with no reply. "Kiba...?"

Kiba and Akamaru shook their heads as they just realized that they were drooling. "Ah... Whoops!" He said, embarrassed. "Uh... Yeah let's-"

"Quiet...!" A voice hissed from behind. The three kids looked over their shoulders to see Sasuke behind. "Someone's coming..."

Akamaru sniffed the air and then whimpered softly. "He's right..." Kiba whispered.

The kids watched as a man made his way through the bushes below and walked towards the cooking chunk of meat. He sat down on a log as he brought out a kunai knife from his pocket and tore some meat off the bone.

"Look at what he's wearing..." Sasuke whispered to them.

"What he's wearing?" Naruto asked in confusion.

"Why does it matter?" Kiba added.

"It does look familiar..." Haruhi mumbled.

Sasuke sighed. "He's... A ninja..." He stated.

"A ninja?" Kiba asked, stunned.

"Are you serious?" Naruto added.

"That would make sense..." Haruhi mumbled with her thumb and forefinger ascending to her chin.

"Yes... So, we have to be careful and sneak away as quietly as possible." Sasuke told them.

"SO YOU'RE TELLING ME THAT THAT GUY IS A NINJA? NO WAY!" Naruto screamed. He quickly covered his mouth, realizing what he had just done. "Uh... Sorry..." He said nervously as the others looked at each other.

The ninja from down below stood up and stared up at the kids, who all gasped.

"Damn it, Naruto...!" Kiba hissed.

"I said I was sorry!" Naruto replied.

"We don't have time for that right now!" Sasuke told them. "Let's go!" And he quickly ran off with the others following close behind.

"Hey kids! Wait a minute!" The man called out, but with no reply as the kids ran away. "Hold on!" He shouted and ran after them.

"Why did you have to do that, Naruto?" Sasuke asked.

"IT WAS YOUR FAULT FOR EXPLAINING THAT TO ME!" Naruto bellowed.

Kiba sniffed the air once again and looked back over his shoulder. "He's following us!" He told them. "If we don't hurry, then he's going to catch us!"

Haruhi sighed. "That's just great..." She muttered.

"There's Shikamaru and Gaara..." Sasuke said as he stared at the two boys below. "Let's get down!"

"Guys! Let's move!" Haruhi called out to the two of them as they jumped down from the tree.

"Let me guess, there's someone chasing you?" Shikamaru asked with a bored expression on his face.

"How did you know that?" Naruto asked with a raised eyebrow.

"I heard you guys screaming..." Shikamaru replied. "And a ninja out of all people... You are so troublesome..."

"Well, we should really get going now... Before that guy catches up to us!" Haruhi suggested.

"Relax..." Shikamaru said. "I thought that you guys would've done something like this..."

The others – excluding Gaara – blinked and stared at each other. They heard a rustling sound in the bushes and stared at the same man from before. Kiba whispered something to Akamaru and the dog yipped in reply.

"Hey! What are you kids doing out here alone?" He asked. "You shouldn't be out this late..."

"Sorry... We were just going now..." Shikamaru told him.

"Do you need any help?" The ninja asked.

"No. So, can you leave us alone now?" Shikamaru asked.

"Look kid, I just want to-"

"We don't need your help!" Kiba snapped. "Go get him, Akamaru!"

Akamaru jumped out of Kiba's shirt and ran up to the stranger and snatched the ninja tools' bag from the ninja and began to run back to his master.

"Hey!" The ninja screamed as he began to run after the dog, but triggered a trap, being caught up in the net that hung from a nearby tree. "What the-"

"It was so troublesome trying to set this trap up." Shikamaru stated. "But having troublesome friends means that you always need to think ahead. It's like a game of shougi."

"What did he say...?" Naruto asked.

"I... Honestly have no clue..." Haruhi admitted.

"Really...?" Shikamaru asked.

"Even I got it..." Sasuke added.

"Okay, now I'm just lost!" Kiba said.

Shikamaru sighed in defeat as he looked back and forth between Akamaru and the ninja. "Well, thanks to this guy, we've got protection..."

Akamaru dropped the small bag into his master's hands to be opened. Kiba smirked.

"Looks like there's some pretty good stuff in here. Kunai, shuriken, smoke bombs..." He stated. "Would this be good to keep?"

"I'd say so." Shikamaru answered.

"But wait... Isn't that... Stealing?" Haruhi asked.

"Of course it is! But, we deserve it after being put through all of that torment!" Naruto replied.

"I hate to say this, but he's right. For a change..." Shikamaru said as his shoulders slouched down.

"HEY!" Naruto screamed.

"Anyway, let's go... We've gotten rid of the problem. We should really be on our way." Shikamaru said.

"Right." The others replied as they began to walk away from the trapped ninja.

"Hey! You damn brats! Get over here and get me down!" The ninja yelled.

Naruto, Kiba and Haruhi turned around to face him.

"Ooh..." Naruto began.

"Yeah..." Haruhi added with sarcasm.

"Uh..." Kiba continued.

"NO!" They said in unison with grins on their faces. They all turn back around laughing like five-year olds.

"Do you really have to provoke ninja like that?" Shikamaru asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Um..." Naruto began.

"No..." Haruhi continued.

"Well..." Kiba added.

"Yeah!" They said in unison.

"So troublesome..." Shikamaru muttered as he shook his head.

Out of nowhere, Akamaru began to growl. Everyone turned to face him and Kiba. "There are others... I'd say..." Kiba began and sniffed the air. "Around three people..."

"That's a basic platoon for a ninja squad if you count this guy..." Shikamaru stated.

"Wait a minute! How did you know how many people are in my squad?" The ninja shouted. "Don't tell me that you're an Inuzuka?"

Kiba's eyes narrowed as he sent his death glare over at the ninja. Well, being ten, it looked like more of an adorable pouting face.

"_Do you have to go, Hana?"_

"_Yeah... But, I'll be back real soon, okay?"_

"_Okay..."_

"_Take care of Akamaru while I'm gone."_

"Are you kidding me? I have just grown up dog-like. It's none of your business anyway!" Kiba replied

The others stared at him for a moment before Kiba turned back to them. "Well? Do we want to be caught? Let's go!" He said. The others looked at each other, but Shikamaru soon led the way.

'Is there something I missed, or did he just look as if he wanted to really hurt that guy?' Shikamaru thought in disbelief, shocked at how quickly Kiba's usual laid-back attitude change. 'I'm going to have to keep my eye on him...'

"Kiba, where are they at now?" Shikamaru asked.

"Just give me a minute!" Kiba yelled back and sniffed the air. They've almost made it to their pal! So, we don't have much time..."

"Great... They've put us into check. We have to make a move and it had better be a good one." Shikamaru said in worry.

The group thought for a moment and Naruto grinned.

"I know what we can do!" He said.

"Now I'm worried..." Haruhi muttered.

"No, seriously! You know how I would sometimes disappear and they could never find me?" Naruto asked.

"Yeah..." Everyone – minus the silent Gaara – replied.

"Well, it turns out that they never had their cameras on during the day, so I could always go there! Follow me!" Naruto said as he made a sharp turn, dashing in front of the others.

"I sure hope that we're making the right move!" Shikamaru said as they all raced after Naruto.

A few minutes had passed and they skidded to a stop when they reached a field of flowers and a cave.

"Whoa...!" Haruhi gaped in awe.

"Here we are! My own little hang-out!" Naruto announced.

"If you knew about this the whole time, why didn't say something before?" Sasuke asked as he folded his arms.

"I didn't think about it at the time, and besides you guys didn't ask." Naruto replied.

The group walked into the small cave and relaxed inside.

"It looks like we lost them..." Haruhi observed.

"For now..." Shikamaru added.

The group looked at the weapons that they had just stolen.

"I guess in a way this makes us thieves, right?" Haruhi asked softly.

"Well really, Akamaru was the one who stole this... If you think about it..." Naruto replied.

"Don't put all of the blame on him!" Kiba shouted.

"Right... I guess that we can split it fifty/fifty since you told him to do it." Haruhi said.

"BOOM!" She and Naruto shouted as they high fived.

"Tch. Whatever... That means if Akamaru and I steal anymore stuff, I guess we can keep it all to ourselves!" Kiba shot back.

Naruto and Haruhi were on their knees now.

"NO! DON'T DO THAT!" Naruto begged.

"THE FOOD WILL GO STALE BEFORE YOU EVEN EAT IT!" Haruhi pleaded.

"Oh! Ha ha! You guys should be comedians!" Kiba yelled sarcastically.

"BOOM!" The two on the ground shouted again as they high fived.

'Well, this is sometimes normal..." Shikamaru thought.

'Idiots...' Gaara thought.

'Losers...' Sasuke thought.

"Well, whatever the case," Shikamaru began and all eyes were on him. "I think that we're getting the right idea. But, I want to make a decision with you guys though..."

"A decision?" Naruto asked.

"About what?" Haruhi added.

Shikamaru sighed. "Maybe, in order to survive we'll need to steal. And that will make us criminals, even if we are children. So, I want to know if you guys want to go through this. If one of us doesn't feel comfortable with the idea then we won't do it. It's as simple as that. So, what do you guys want to do?" He asked.

There was a moment of silence as the group stared at each other.

"Well, it seems as if we won't have any other choice but to steal." Sasuke said with a small smirk. "I'm not going to be reduced to begging on the streets."

"There's no way that I'm going to let Sasuke outdo me! Believe it!" Naruto screamed.

"Hey, if he's in it then I've got to do it too!" Haruhi stated.

"Akamaru and I might get a thrill from all of this!" Kiba said with a cocky smirk along with a bark from his partner.

"So... Gaara...?" Shikamaru asked.

Gaara stood there like a statue for a moment until he gave an almost unnoticeable nod, which made Shikamaru grow a rare smirk on his face.

"Then it's settled..." He stated.

"...We're thieves now..."

_**Author's Notes:**_

_**Okay, so that was the first chapter. I worked my butt off doing this, so I hope that it was good to read!  
So, I may as well have the order of who came to the orphanage so then we're clear on this... First – Gaara – Second – Naruto – Third – Haruhi – Fourth – Sasuke – Fifth – Kiba – Sixth – Shikamaru. There we go...  
This is the first time I have done an orphanage story... So, this took a while to figure out. I had to do so much research, because I really haven't had to study anything like this... But, in the end, it is worth it, because it's going to be great when we finally get into the good parts!  
So, you can favourite, follow and review! Please...? I need to know if I have done a good job or not... So... Can you please... Review? And do the others...?**_


	2. Konoha

**Author's Notes:**

**Okay, so I posted the first chapter ages ago and I got two reviews! Thanks guys! I know that it's the first chapter and it's not likely to get many, so that's pretty good all things considered. Anyway, here's the next chapter!**

_**Title: Wander**_

_**Anime: Naruto**_

_**Summary: Sometimes when you fend for yourself, it makes you wander to new places. You meet new people, learn new things and can even take it as a chance to make an effort with the person of your dreams! But, it's not all a picnic! Oh. One question... How are children so good at being criminals?**_

_**Genre: Hurt/comfort, Drama**_

_**Rating: T**_

_**Characters: Naruto, Gaara, Sasuke, Kiba, Shikamaru, OC**_

_**Pairings: None as of yet. NO Yaoi!**_

_**Word Count: 6201**_

_**Warning: Mentions of eating disorders!**_

_**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. If I did, imagine how much a mess it would be... Also, instead of Naruto, it would've been called KIBA! A-And it would mostly be about him being shirtless... Anyway! Masashi Kishimoto owns KI-uh-NARUTO! Nailed it!**_

_Chapter 2:_

It's been two full years since the group left the orphanage. By this time, they had all played a role in surviving. Sasuke and Haruhi had been learning some first aid in case they couldn't be saved by Gaara. He had a role in protecting himself and the others from attacks with his sand. Shikamaru was obviously the strategist – since he, Sasuke and Gaara were really the only ones with common sense. While Naruto, Kiba and Akamaru took the position of stealing. But, if something were to go wrong, Naruto would go on the offensive.

The kids eventually stole clothes from stores and did this once every week if they _had_ to. They would move from village to village to try to keep a low profile of their thieving habits. Though, if they do somehow mess up, they always have people raging after them.

"Get them!"

"They won't get away!"

"Give us back the things you took!"

The group was running away from the herd of people chasing after them with smiles on their faces – of course Sasuke, Shikamaru and Gaara weren't as fond of stealing as the others – and each holding a bag or two of different things in their hands. Naruto looked over his shoulder as he ate one of the recently stolen rice balls.

"But you already have a village full of this stuff!" He called out to the mob of people. "Just how greedy can you be?"

"GET THEM!"

Naruto faced back to where he was running again and sighed. "Geez... They must be really mad about this..."

"I know, right?" Haruhi added. "I mean, all we took was six bags worth of clothes, seven bags of food and three small bags of weapons, such as kunai and shuriken... It's not like we robbed a bank or kidnapped a baby!"

Shikamaru groaned. "Would you guys just focus?" He asked. "They're starting to gain up on us..."

"Relax..." Naruto told him. "We can out-run these losers-" He was cut off as a kunai was thrown at him, only just missing his arm. He turned his head back at them again with a glare. "WHAT THE HECK? YOU GUYS ARE ACTING LIKE BABIES OVER A FEW SMALL THINGS!" He yelled at them.

"Yeah... They're mad..." Kiba mumbled, Akamaru whimpering in agreement. "But, got to give them credit for taking this seriously... It's more fun this way..."

"Why are we running anyway?" Haruhi asked. "I mean, it's not worth the effort."

"She is right..." Naruto said. "We can just-"

"No... We have to save the kunai and shuriken for emergencies..." Shikamaru told them.

"Uh... Hi. I don't know if you know me... I'm Naruto. I have a great sense of vision, and behind us, I see a mob of people... Chasing. After. Us." Naruto said to Shikamaru, note the hint of sarcasm in his voice.

"I said that we won't use _weapons._" Shikamaru told them. "I never said that we couldn't just use a smoke grenade..."

Kiba gave him a toothy grin. "I got it!" He said as he skidded to a stop, facing the herd. He dug into his pocket and pulled out a purple smoke bomb. "See ya!" He called out as he threw the bomb onto the ground as hard as he could right in front of the crowd, who were coughing as the smoke appeared around them, entering their lungs.

"Bullseye!" Kiba said happily with a yip from his companion on top of his head. "Let's go!"

They all began to run further and further away from the angry group of people that were after them and made it into the forest, out of the village.

"Phew... That was fun, I guess..." Naruto commented.

Shikamaru turned to Kiba. "How many more of those smoke grenades do you have left?" He asked.

Kiba sighed. "About two... It really sucked that they didn't have any. We need to seriously restock on these..." He answered.

"We also have to get more paper bombs as well. We have been meaning to get some for a while now..." Sasuke joined in.

"Come on, we don't need those when we've got me! BELIEVE IT!" Naruto told them.

"Might I remind you that it was _me_ who distracted those guys with the smoke grenade...?" Kiba told the blonde.

"Aw... Shut up, Kiba! Anyone can throw a smoke grenade!" Naruto yelled at him.

Kiba folded his arms and smirked. "Oh really? Then explain to me how I was trusted with them and you weren't!" He told him.

The two continued to glare and exchange insults at each other as the others just stared at them.

"Should we stop them...?" Haruhi asked.

"Hn... Those losers won't stop for a while... It wouldn't be any use to try and get our point through their thick heads..." Sasuke replied, causing Naruto and Kiba to whip around, facing him with glares.

"HEY! WE HEARD THAT!" They yelled at him in unison.

Sasuke just turned around and found a nice tree to lean against.

"DON'T IGNORE US!" They faced each other. "AND WOULD YOU STOP COPYING ME?"

"They never change..." Haruhi stated.

Shikamaru groaned. "Yeah... They're still the largest headache to exist on this planet..."

Haruhi laughed. "You haven't changed much either, Shikamaru..." She told him.

"I know that... No one has really changed much... They're all still as troublesome as always..." Shikamaru commented.

"I'm not that bad, right?" Haruhi asked.

"...You don't want me to answer that question..." Shikamaru replied.

Haruhi pouted. "That's not very nice!"

It was at this point that Naruto and Kiba were now in a full-on fist fight, forming a giant dust cloud around them.

"Alright guys, that's enough..." Haruhi told the two, but didn't receive an answer, the two continuing to fight. 'Oh, they did_ not _just ignore me!'

The red-headed boy then turned to face the fight, not amused in the slightest. "Would the both of you fools stop this...? Now...!" He said, narrowing his eyes.

The two fighting boys halted to a stop, glancing at Gaara nervously. Out of the entire group, Gaara was easily the one that shouldn't be ignored. The two boys knew this more than anyone. They glued on fake smiles onto their faces as they began to sweat from how nervous they were feeling.

"Sorry Gaara! It won't happen again!" They said in unison as they let go of each other and bowed.

"This isn't over, mutt...!" Naruto hissed to Kiba under his breath.

"Yeah... I know that already, Blondie!" Kiba replied, copying his action. The two both stood up straight again with a fake laugh.

Sasuke sighed. "So, are we just going to sit here and waste time, or are we going to actually figure out where we are going to go next?" He asked.

Haruhi faced the raven-haired boy. "Well, aren't you the impatient one today?" She asked with a small smirk.

Sasuke just rolled his eyes.

"He does have a point though..." Shikamaru commented. "We'll find a better place to rest for the night and then we'll figure out where to go on to from there..."

Haruhi groaned. "More walking...!" She said tiredly. "I call for a vote!"

"There is no vote, Haruhi..." Shikamaru informed her with that 'I don't need to deal with this crap' tone.

Haruhi lay down on the grass and began to roll around groaning.

"What are you doing now?" Shikamaru asked with a raised eyebrow.

Haruhi stopped rolling around and looked up at Shikamaru. "I'm holding a protest... I'm tired from all that running that we just did...!" She complained.

"Yeah... Well, that's too bad, because we have to go, as in, now...!" Shikamaru replied as he turned around.

"Well, I'm not moving from this spot!" Haruhi told him.

"Fine..." Shikamaru said as Sasuke grabbed the blue-haired girl by the collar and began to drag her away as the rest of the group followed along.

"Well, at least I don't have to walk thanks to you Sasuke!" She said with a bright smile.

Sasuke narrowed his eyes. 'Lazy little...!'

"I think I might just have a rest!"

"Oh, so _now_ she's happy...!" Naruto muttered.

"It's ridiculous!" Kiba added. "Haruhi, just get up and walk like the rest of us!"

"But, Akamaru gets to sit on your head while you do all the walking..." Haruhi replied. "Why is it different to me?"

Kiba's eyebrows narrowed in annoyance. "It's different, because I don't want us to get separated!" He yelled.

"Well, Sasuke grabbed me, so it's obvious that he doesn't want me to get separated from the group!" Haruhi replied.

Kiba's eye twitched. "You little...! Just wait until I get my claws on you!"

"I guess that it would hurt if you managed to do that... But until then..." Haruhi trailed off and fell asleep with no problem.

Kiba proceeded to strangle the air in front of him, pretending it was Haruhi. "Once you wake up, I'll hit you _that_ hard that you pass out!"

"We'll walk for another half-hour and then stop. We'll find the closest village to us and go there first thing in the morning." Shikamaru informed the group.

"Gotcha!" Naruto and Kiba said in unison.

Naruto then sighed. "So, are we going to sit down and just have a little fun for once or is this just how we're going to do things for the rest of our lives...?" He asked.

Shikamaru glanced at the blonde boy from the corner of his eye. "What are you talking about? Two years ago we agreed that we would steal to survive. It was a choice of going back to that orphanage or this. And now you've decided that you don't want to do this to survive anymore...?" He asked questionably.

Naruto stared at the grass at his feet. "Well," He began. "It's just that... All we do is steal... Can't we just relax for a while...? Just a bit? Have a little fun...?"

"He's got a point, Shikamaru..." Kiba added. "What's the point of doing this if we don't even get to do anything...?"

"Might I remind you that if we don't do this, it'll be harder to survive...? I don't know about you guys, but I think surviving is more important than having fun." Shikamaru replied.

"So, in other words, it's no different than the orphanage that we were at before?" Naruto asked. Kiba glared at him.

"Naruto...!" He growled. "That's going a bit too far don't you think...?"

Shikamaru sighed. "Look, maybe since we've got enough supplies for now, we could squeeze in a little time for-"

"YEAH!" Naruto and Haruhi squealed.

"I thought that you were going to sleep..." Kiba told her.

"Here's the funny thing... I lied!" Haruhi replied.

"You are so close to being put into a coma!" Kiba yelled.

"Try it! I dare you!" She shot back, earning a low growl from Kiba.

"Come on guys, save it for after we have our fun!" Naruto told the two. "Then you guys can have your lovers' quarrel for as long as you like!"

"As if I'd go out with him!" Haruhi yelled.

"Yeah! I think even Gaara would be more likely to go out with her than I am!" Kiba added.

"Uh-huh... That's what they all say!" Naruto replied.

Shikamaru sighed, exhausted. "So troublesome..." He mumbled.

"I agree..." Sasuke told him.

Naruto, Haruhi and Kiba gasped.

"Huh...? What is it, now?" Shikamaru asked.

"Nothing!" The three replied.

"It's not that weird that I said, 'I agree'." Sasuke told them, annoyed, causing the three to gasp again.

Shikamaru shook his head. "Honestly, I don't know what your game is, you three. One moment your arguing like there's no tomorrow and the next you are all the same..."

"You can't prove that, Shikamaru." The three replied.

Shikamaru groaned. "You guys are easily the toughest shougi game that ever existed."

"Thank you!"

"It's not meant to be a complement..."

"Well it,"

"Sounded,"

"Like one,"

"SO WE'RE TAKING IT AS ONE!"

"You really _do_ never change..." Shikamaru told them. "And I'm not saying that in a good way..."

"Don't have to be mean about it..." Naruto said.

"Yeah! Don't be a bully!" Haruhi added, pointing at the pineapple-head.

Shikamaru rolled his eyes. "Five minutes of quiet would be nice..." He muttered.

"That sounds like a terrible idea!" Haruhi said.

"Just go back to fake sleeping..." Shikamaru told her.

"I'll go back to it when I say so...!" Haruhi told him with a pout. The group waited in an awkward silence for about half a minute and she finally said, "Okay, I'm out." She then –this time for real – fell asleep.

Naruto grinned and Kiba gave him a questioning look.

"What are you doing...?" He asked slowly.

"Never pass out, while there are markers about...!" He replied, his smile larger than his face.

"You don't even have a marker..." Kiba said. At that moment, Naruto searched though one of his bags and pulled out a black marker.

"You were saying...?" He asked.

Kiba rolled his eyes. "What are you going to do...?"

"A moustache. Duh." The blonde replied as he tried to draw a large moustache on Haruhi's face. It was hard since Sasuke was still dragging her around, but he made no attempt to walk faster or stop the fool.

Naruto soon finished the moustache. "There! Done!" He said.

"Naruto, you idiot!" Kiba yelled at him as he took away the marker. "You have to give her a beard _and_ mono-brow as well...! Face drawing rule: 101." He then began his own drawing.

Once he was done, the two troublemakers snickered at their victory.

"...Idiots..." Gaara muttered under his breath.

"You two are as mature as a four-year old..." Shikamaru explained to them.

"Hey, don't just give me and Naruto the credit," Kiba replied. "Akamaru thought of the mono-brow thing!"

"Arf!" Akamaru barked, agreeing.

"And you have to admit, it's pretty funny." Naruto added. "Just look at her face!"

Shikamaru glanced over his shoulder in slight curiosity, trying to hide his excitement. Once he had saw the work the idiots did on her face, he had to stop himself from bursting into laughter – he had to compose himself _really_ well.

"I don't think so..." He replied, telling the biggest lie in the history of biggest lies.

"Aw... What?" Naruto asked in shock.

"You don't even think it's a _little_ funny? At all?" Kiba asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Arf?" Akamaru barked, confused.

Shikamaru paused. "...No..." He replied.

The two boys groaned. "Don't be such a wet blanket, Shikamaru!" Naruto told him.

"I'm not being a wet blanket; I just don't think that it's funny..." Shikamaru replied.

"Sounds like wet blanket talk to me." Kiba whispered – rather loudly – to Naruto.

"I can hear you, you know." Shikamaru informed them.

"Huh? What was that, Shikamaru? I can't understand you. You're going to have to stop speaking that boring language." Naruto said.

"Real mature guys." Shikamaru muttered.

"Speak. English." Kiba told him.

"I'm just going to ignore you now..."

Haruhi's eyes suddenly snapped open. "Guys, is it me, or is someone speaking, 'the language'?" She asked.

"Pfft...!" The two boys snickered – mainly at her face.

"What's so funny...?" She asked suspiciously.

"N-Nothing...!" Naruto laughed. "It's just that Shikamaru was speaking the language, is all!"

LIES!

"Oh! I am so good at knowing!" Haruhi congratulated herself.

'Ha! She still doesn't know!' Naruto thought.

'But, she is totally going to kill us once she notices!' Kiba thought.

"Stop fooling around." Sasuke told the three others. "Be quiet for five minutes."

"S-Sasuke, I-I can't understand you. Please, do us all a favour and stop being a wet blanket!" Haruhi told him, causing him to drop her collar. He kept on walking.

"Walk by yourself..." Sasuke said. "I don't feel like being nice anymore..."

Haruhi pouted. Naruto and Kiba snickered, looking at her new facial features.

"It's not funny, guys!" She yelled at them.

'She's right,' Kiba thought, snickering.

'It's hilarious!' Naruto thought laughing so hard that he was about to cry.

Once he had calmed down, Kiba grabbed Haruhi by the back of her collar and then began to slowly drag her.

"Geez, either Sasuke is taking some wacked drugs, or you've put on a few pounds-"

"_Or,_" Haruhi interrupted, feeling the tick on her forehead. "You're just-"

"Don't even go there, or I'll rip off your legs and stick them on your head!" Kiba said, his turn to interrupt.

"Fine, fine." Haruhi said, folding her arms.

Naruto had finally calmed down to quiet snickers. "H-Hey, Haruhi. Totally unrelated, but can you speak in a French accent?" He asked.

"Never tried it... Wait... Did you two do something to me while I was asleep...?" She asked questionably.

The two boys paused, biting their lips.

"IT WAS ALL HIS DOING!" They yelled in unison, pointing at the other.

"Okay, once I can be bothered, I will rip off _your_ legs and stick them on _your _head." Haruhi informed them.

"Did you just-?"

"Yes Kiba. Yes I did."

**-Line Break-**

"Okay, we'll stop here for the night..." Shikamaru said to the group as they all stopped walking – the ones that _were_ walking anyway...

"And what's so special about this place...?" Naruto asked.

Shikamaru raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean by that, Naruto?"

"Well, just using my eyes here, but... IT LOOKS EXACTLY THE SAME AS THE REST OF THIS FOREST!" Naruto replied overdramatically.

"Well, you and your great eyes probably didn't notice this while you were having your 'fun', but I was checking out our map and there's a village really close to this spot, but not too close that we'll be seen. It's a fifteen minute walk, give or take a few minutes, so I was thinking that we could use the extra time to check it out a bit." Shikamaru explained.

"Why do you want to check it out so bad?" Haruhi asked as she was trying to rub the markings on her face off.

"It's a pretty big and famous village..." Shikamaru replied as he pulled out a map and unfolded it. "We're here... And you see that large area right next to us?" He asked, receiving nods. "That's the village."

"THAT'S THE VILLAGE?" Naruto wailed. "IT'S HUGE! Are you telling me that we're actually going there?"

Shikamaru nodded. "That's right. You guys were complaining that it wasn't fun enough with those other villages, so I thought that we could try out a few things there while we're working."

Naruto's eyes brightened with delight. "This is so cool!" He commented happily. "Thank you, thank you, thank you, Shikamaru!"

"Alright, I get it... You're thankful... It's not like it's going to last forever or anything..." Shikamaru muttered.

The group was silent as they heard a low rumbling sound. Naruto's face went red and he smiled. "Heh... Sorry about that! I get hungry when I'm excited..." He told them.

Shikamaru sighed. "I guess we better make a fire... Kiba, go get some firewood, but make sure that you don't wander off too far or go to the village..." He said.

Kiba rolled his eyes. "Yeah... What will I get out of going to the village by myself? Besides, I've got Akamaru and our sense of smell!" He said and left without waiting for a reply.

"Huh. So it's called... Konoha, huh?" Haruhi asked, still struggling with the fake facial hair.

Shikamaru nodded. "Not only is it large, but it's famous for its ninja."

"NINJA?" Naruto and Haruhi screamed.

"Calm down. They're like dogs... They don't do anything unless they're told to or if they're on a mission..." Shikamaru explained, thankful that Kiba and Akamaru weren't there to here that 'dog' comment.

"Yeah, we know that!" Haruhi replied.

"This will make things interesting." Naruto added. "After all, we haven't run into any real ninja for two years now. It's going to be fun!"

Shikamaru shook his head. "Your definition of 'fun' is a lot different than mine. How is possibly being captured by ninja to be considered as 'fun'?"

"I will admit, it will be interesting to see if there are any _real_ ninja here..." Sasuke said. "I can tell Gaara's thinking the same thing..."

Naruto glanced at the silent Gaara, who just stood there with his arms folded. "Wow... You must be a mind reader or something, because that face he's pulling says otherwise." He commented.

Sasuke and Gaara rolled their eyes. Other than Shikamaru, they were the only sane and mature kids in the group.

When Kiba and Akamaru came back with the firewood, the group sat down in a small circle around the small fire that had just been created. They had been cooking some of the meat that they had just stolen from the last village.

"Is there anything more about this village that you can tell us about, Shikamaru?" Haruhi asked. "I mean, if we're going to stay there for a while, we've got to know a bit of the history."

Shikamaru sat there in thought, staring at the fire and sighed. "Well, there is one story that is fairly well known..." He mumbled. "But, when we're in the village _don't_ talk about it no matter what... You got that...?"

The group looked at each other and nodded.

"Well, supposably about twelve years ago... The village was attacked by some kind of beast... If you're interested to hear about it..."

"A beast...?" Naruto asked, clearly showing interest.

Shikamaru nodded. "It wasn't just any beast that we could find out here in the woods though... Apparently, it was a giant fox... With nine tails..."

"So, it was a nine tailed fox that attacked?" Haruhi asked. "That's kind of hard to believe..."

"I'm just telling you what I heard I'm not sure if it's true or not..." Shikamaru said.

"But, surely they must've somehow defeated it... I mean, the village is still standing, isn't it?" Naruto asked.

Shikamaru sighed. "Well, you know how I used to tell you about village leaders...? At this time, the Third Hokage – Hirozen Sarutobi – and the Fourth Hokage – Minato Namikaze – were both alive and fought for the village. It was a long and harsh battle, ninja were killed, homes were destroyed... But then the Fourth Hokage managed to... Well, I guess defeat the beast by sealing it inside the body of a baby boy. From what I heard, it was his son or something like that..." Shikamaru explained, the others staring at him with their eyes widened so far that it looked like they would pop right out of their heads. "I'm not sure if I got it all right though... No doubt I've missed some details, but as far as I know, that's how it goes..."

"Whoa..." Naruto gasped in amazement. "That Minato guy sounds awesome...!"

"Is the boy still alive...? The one that had the fox placed inside of him...?" Haruhi asked.

Shikamaru shrugged his shoulders. "I don't know..."

Haruhi grabbed him by the shoulders and began to violently shake him. "YOU NEED TO TELL ME! WHERE'S ALL THE DETAIL IN THAT STORY YOU JUST TOLD? WHERE'S THE EVENTS AFTER THE FOX ATTACKED! I NEED TO KNOW!" She screamed, stopping herself from shaking Shikamaru to see what he had to say.

"Fine... If you have to be a critic... Everyone went about their businesses afterwards, cleaning up the mess from the attack and holding special memorials for the ninja who died... Oh! And also, in order to use that sealing technique, the Fourth Hokage sacrificed himself or something..." Shikamaru replied.

"AND YOU JUST _HAPPENED_ TO LEAVE THAT IMPORTANT DETAIL OUT OF THE STORY?" Haruhi screamed, shaking Shikamaru's shoulders again.

Naruto frowned. "Aw... Man... And I was hoping that I would get to meet the guy..." He mumbled.

"The Third Hokage is still alive as far as I know..." Shikamaru told Naruto once he finally got Haruhi away his shoulders. "You _might_ be able to see that guy... But it might not be that easy..."

Naruto's smile came back. "YEAH! I'LL MEET THE THIRD HOKAGE AND ASK HIM ABOUT THE FOURTH HOKAGE! I'll see if we can get a better description on that story!"

Shikamaru sighed. "Okay, first... It was my first time telling that story, so stop acting like I didn't try... And second, you can't say anything about it. It's taboo there." He explained.

"Why?" Naruto asked.

"I don't know, it just is!" Shikamaru replied, starting to get a little impatient.

"You see! It's because of an attitude like yours that we have to ask the guy about it in the first place!" Naruto told him.

"You're lucky that I even told you as much as I did." Shikamaru said.

"Eh." Naruto hummed, deep in thought.

"Someone's excited..." Kiba said to himself as he gave half of his meat to the dog on top of his head.

Sasuke sighed as he and Gaara also began to eat. "You better eat it now before it burns..." He told the three arguing kids. They all quickly pulled their meat away from the fire and began to eat.

Shikamaru looked at the brunette of the group. "You know, we got an extra piece from that heist we pulled earlier, Kiba. You can cook that one as well if you want." He mentioned.

Kiba blinked and gave Shikamaru a toothy grin. "Nah... I'm good. I'm not feeling like it tonight..." He replied. Shikamaru stared at him with a raised eyebrow and then went back to his own meal.

'Poor guy...' He thought to himself. 'Sure, he eats a little more now than when he first arrived at the orphanage... But it still isn't enough...'

He glanced at his other comrades. 'Gaara and Naruto came when they were really young, so I guess it wouldn't be as painful for them... And Sasuke... He can't remember most of his life before he came... As for Haruhi... I don't even know about her... She doesn't like to open up her past like that...' He thought. 'I hope it wasn't too painful... That goes for everyone...'

Haruhi glanced at Shikamaru, noticing that look on his face. 'He's thinking about all of us again...' She thought sadly and walked over to him. She poked his face to get his attention.

Shikamaru blinked and looked up at Haruhi. "What is it...?" He asked.

"Are you being a wet blanket again...?" She asked quietly so none of the others would hear.

"I told you, I'm _not_ being a wet blanket..." He replied just as quietly.

Haruhi smiled sadly and sat down right next to him. "You don't have to worry about us all the time, Shikamaru..." She told him. "I know that you care and are concerned, but it's no good if you're going to be upset 24/7. Just, try to relax a little, okay?"

Shikamaru stared at her for a moment and took a small breath. "You know, for someone who's trying to give advice about not being worried, you're not doing a really good job at being a role model..." He said.

Haruhi blinked and pouted. "What are you talking about...?" She asked.

"Admit it, you're worried. You wouldn't have bothered coming over here if you weren't..." He replied. "Also, you still got some of that marker on you..."

"Wha-Where?" She asked. "I thought that I got it all off!"

"Here's a hint... You have a mono-brow..." Shikamaru mentioned.

"Who thought of that?" Haruhi asked, rubbing between her brows.

"Akamaru did." Shikamaru answered.

"Well, I guess I can't stay mad at him... I'll just get the other two back twice as hard." Haruhi said.

Shikamaru chuckled. Haruhi blinked. "What is it? What's so funny?" She asked.

"Nothing..." Shikamaru replied.

"TELL ME!"

"No, it's nothing..." He said, noting how the marker was only smudging across her forehead even more.

"Ugh... Guys, what's he laughing at?" She asked, making Naruto and Kiba laugh louder than ever.

"Sasuke..." Haruhi said. "What are they laughing at? Tell me the truth..."

"You got a little something around... Your entire forehead..." Sasuke replied.

"WHAT?" Haruhi screamed. "I SMUDGED IT? WHY DIDN'T SOMEONE TELL ME?"

"Sasuke just did...!" Naruto snickered.

"It's kind of funny...!" Kiba said.

Shikamaru smirked. "Alright, I think it's time to hit the hay..." He told everyone. "We wouldn't want to miss anything..."

"I guess..." Naruto replied as everyone tried to get comfortable. He sighed and rolled onto his side. 'Being Hokage sounds pretty awesome...' He thought. 'I wonder... Could someone like me become a Hokage...?'

He smiled. 'Yeah! I know what I'm going to do!'

**-Line Break-**

Haruhi woke up with the sun shining brightly in her eyes and sat up with a yawn. She looked down at the others who were still sleeping. Though, one person was missing.

"...Naruto...?" She asked softly as she rubbed her eyes. She sighed at stood up. "Better go look for him..."

She began to wander around the forest, looking for some spiky blonde hair. She's noticed that he had been sneaking off on his own lately. She never could figure out exactly what he was doing, but a lot of the time, he would just be walking around, like he was trying to look for something. She couldn't understand what it was though...

She then saw that familiar spiked up hair and looked at the boy in curiosity. "What's he doing...?" She asked herself quietly.

She saw Naruto pounding his fists on a tree. She blinked in confusion. 'What's he trying to do?' She thought.

What really shocked her was that the tree was starting to break. "He's doing it... Wait... How is that even possible? He's twelve...!"

Naruto whipped around and noticed Haruhi staring at him. "Uh... W-What are you doing here, Haruhi? Shouldn't you be resting before we head into the village?" He asked, walking towards her.

"I got enough sleep yesterday... And besides, if anyone should be asking that question, it's me! What are you doing out here by yourself? Is this what you do all the time when you disappear?" She asked.

Naruto scratched the back of his neck. "Erm... Not exactly... I was just uh..." Naruto began, trying to find the right words.

"You know... You don't have to take anything out on the tree..." Haruhi told him jokingly.

"No, no, no! It's not like that at all!" Naruto defended. "Well, it's just that... We're going into Konoha today and after hearing that story about that Fourth Hokage – Minato – I kind of got interested... And... Well, it's kind of hard to explain, but... Just forget it!"

Haruhi blinked in confusion. "You are making less sense than usual... Can't you just tell me?" She asked with a raised eyebrow.

"No." Naruto replied as he folded his arms with a pout.

"Come on..." She pleaded. "I won't tell anybody!"

"You sure I can believe that...?" Naruto asked suspiciously.

"YES!" Haruhi replied.

Naruto sighed. "Well, as long as you don't laugh and you don't tell anyone!"

"I promise on my life!"

Naruto's eyes took interest to the ground for a minute before looking back at Haruhi. "Okay... Well, I might sound a little crazy for thinking this... But, what if with enough effort, _I_ could become Hokage?" He asked. "It's not that hard to image when you think about it!"

Haruhi blinked. "Uh... But, are you sure that you could become a Hokage? Why do you want to become one anyway? All they do is sit around doing paperwork until they're needed in battle..." She asked.

"Ugh...! You won't get it! I told you that it's hard to explain!" He replied in frustration. "Come on; let's get back to the others before they wake up..."

Haruhi sighed. "Fine..." She replied and the two of them began to walk back to the others. But when they arrived...

"So, what were you two doing?" Shikamaru asked with his arms folded.

"Uh..." Naruto and Haruhi began, unsure of how to put it.

"I get it!" Kiba said with a smirk. "You two were out doing some _really_ personal stuff, weren't you?"

"Why would you think that?" Naruto yelled at the brunette.

"Why am I the target of the love stuff?" Haruhi asked.

"I don't know... Maybe because you're the only girl in this group?" Naruto replied sarcastically.

Haruhi sighed. "It's not like that at all, Kiba." She told him.

"Relax, I was only joking..." Kiba replied. "So what _were_ you doing?"

"Like we'll ever tell..." Naruto and Haruhi said in unison.

"Alright... If we're all ready, I think that it's about time to get going..." Shikamaru said. "The problem is... I was checking the place out from a distance last night, and it looks like there are guards at the front gate – and might I add that it is the _only_ gate in and out...? So, it looks like that we'll be climbing the wall."

Naruto smirked. "What? It's not like it's going to be _that_ big..." He said.

**-Line Break-**

"IT'S FREAKING HUGE!" Naruto screamed as they made it around to the back of the village.

"I warned you..." Shikamaru said.

"Something tells me that this is going to take a while..." Haruhi added.

Kiba kicked the dirt on the ground. "Man, I'm so tempted to dig a hole under the wall..." He said.

"That could work..." Shikamaru said. "We just need to know if anyone will be able to see us... But..."

"Yeah? And how are we going to do that...?" Naruto asked.

Sasuke looked at Gaara and nodded at him. Gaara placed two of his fingers over one of his eyes as sand began to slowly come out of the large gourd on his back. The others stared at him in curiosity, wondering what he was doing.

The sand that came out of the gourd somehow turned itself into an eyeball, in which the others were kind of grossed out by as it moved around.

"AW SICK!" Naruto screamed. "IS THAT AN ACTUAL EYEBALL? HOW'S IT MOVING ON IT'S OWN? WHERE DID IT COME FROM?"

"Funny... You took all the words out of my mouth..." Haruhi mumbled.

Gaara crushed the eyeball that he had just created into sand again which drifted above the wall and turned back into the eyeball form again, glancing around the village. Then it disintegrated back into sand and into the gourd again.

"We're clear..." Gaara told the group, who were still a little grossed out.

Shikamaru glanced at Kiba, trying to forget what just happened. 'I'll have to ask him about that later...' He thought. "Kiba, you and Akamaru do your thing..."

Kiba grinned. "Let's go, Akamaru!" He said as the two of them quickly dug a tunnel through the ground into the village. "Alright! We're done! You better hurry though... I think people might feel the need to stare once they come out of their houses..." He called through the hole.

Haruhi sighed. "Great... I always wanted to go through a hole that could make me dirty after I finally got a chance to freshen up." She said sarcastically.

"Just go through the tunnel..." Sasuke told her as went through.

"Ugh..." Haruhi groaned. "Fine..." She then went through the tunnel – unwillingly.

Once they were all through, Kiba quickly filled it up again. "Good boy, Akamaru!" He praised.

"Arf!" Akamaru yipped happily.

"So, this is Konoha, huh?" Naruto asked.

"Psh..! Doesn't seem that special to me..." Haruhi said.

"Yeah! It's not cool at all...!" Naruto added. The two paused for a moment.

"WHO ARE WE KIDDING?" The two asked in unison.

"This place is awesome!" Naruto announced.

"It's bigger than I could ever imagine!" Haruhi added.

"Maybe I made a mistake in choosing this place..." Shikamaru sighed.

Kiba took a wiff of the air. "I don't know about this place... It's got a lot of weird smells to it..." He said, close to vomiting. "Someone's wearing some _nasty_ perfume!"

"I don't hear Akamaru complaining..." Shikamaru told him.

"Yeah... You have a point... But, UGH! WHO THINKS IT MAKES THEM SMELL GOOD? BECAUSE MY NOSE SAYS OTHERWISE!" Kiba replied.

"So, where would the Hokage be?" Naruto asked excitedly.

"Hm... I don't know... Let's try the largest building in the village!" Haruhi replied.

"Whoa... Hold your horses, you two... We're not here to meet the Hokage..." Shikamaru told them.

Naruto walked over to Shikamaru. "...Wet...Blanket..." He whispered with a smirk.

"You know what? Have fun." Shikamaru said with a groan.

"YES!" Naruto screamed in excitement.

"By the way, Gaara. What was that thing you did back there?" Shikamaru asked.

"Gaara has been working on some Jutsu with his sand that could help." Sasuke answered for the red-head.

"You learned Jutsu? How did you do that?" Shikamaru asked with slight shock.

Sasuke shrugged. "He just sort of did it on his own. It comes naturally to him, I guess."

"This is interesting..." Shikamaru said with a finger on his chin.

Kiba then out of nowhere sneezed. "Sorry... Someone's spraying more of that damn perfume around..." He said as he held his nose. "YUK!"

"HEY GUYS!" Naruto yelled out. "LET'S TRY OUT SOME OF THIS RAMEN STUFF!"

Shikamaru brought a hand to his forehead. "Something tells me that this is going to end badly..." He muttered.

"You got that right..." Kiba agreed, holding his mouth.

_**Author's Notes:**_

_**There's the second chapter done! It took forever... But it's done! I'm sorry if it seems to be going a little slow, but it's just the start of the story so far. The other characters should be appearing in this story too. Within the next couple of chapters even.**_

_**So, review! I want you guys to tell me what you think so far of the story, because I have been working really hard on it... Anyway, if you got questions, that would be a nice touch to put in the review box as well. So please, please, please review!**_

_**Thank you...**_


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